March 29, 2013

I wanted to share a little crafty something with you seems how I've been so busy enjoying my vacation to post! I spent some time this week watching my newest Craftsy class while Dustin was working. I'm taking the How to Teach It! Class that is taught by Gwen Bortner. I'm really looking forward to applying what I'm learning in her class when I get home!

I put together a little wishlist of Craftsy classes this week too. I love learning new things and I think it would be fantastic to take any of these classes!

1. Shuttle Tatting - At my knitting group on Thursdays there is one lady that has been working on a few tatting projects recently. She has been making me want to revisit tatting and make something incredible!

2. Croissants Class - I absolutely love cooking, but I have a very soft spot for learning how to make the oh-so-delicate pastry breads. Making the perfect croissant is on my bucket list. I will take this class someday (Maybe soon!) and perfect the art of croissant making!

3. Sewing with Knits - I haven't done much sewing over the last year and a half, but I would love to get back into sewing, especially with knits, so I can make cute things for Willow and myself!

On Wednesday my grandparents treated us to a fantastic late lunch at the restaurant Capt'n Cons in Bokeelia, FL. We had a pretty fantastic ocean view from our table and had the BEST seafood chowder and fish sandwich I have ever eaten.

So before leaving for Capt'n Cons we discovered that they are famed for their peanut butter pie. We bought a whole pie and brought it home to eat. OH.MY.GOODNESS. That pie was the richest and most peanut buttery pie I've ever eaten.

Yesterday (Thursday) was the nicest day since the day we arrived so we went and visited my favorite beach in Venice.

We came home with 50+ sharks teeth! We believe that we found part of a Megalodon sharks tooth, the upper left in the picture.

We still are on vacation til Sunday, so there are still some more chances for funny stories, but this is number one so far.

First of all, I have to say that Dustin has always teased me for thinking that hunting for sharks teeth is childs play and that I'm crazy to love doing it so much. Yesterday, I roped him into coming out and helping me by scooping up sand from the surf line, onto the beach for me to sift through. After bringing me quite a few scoops, he sat down and was looking for teeth with me. At one point, he picked up what he thought was a rock and waved it in my face, teasing me that he found part a megalodon sharks tooth (Megalodon sharks are extinct and were MASSIVE terrorists of the ocean). When I saw what he was waving in my face, I grabbed it and examined it because it looked just like part of a sharks tooth! And, chances are, it is indeed a Megalodon tooth. I think Dustin needs to come hunting more often!

Today we are getting ready to head to Atlanta to visit a past co-worker of Dustin's and his wife. Tomorrow we are planning to visit the Coca-Cola Museum and the Georgia Aquarium. I am really looking forward to it!

March 23, 2013

Dustin and I left for Florida last night at 6pm and we are getting closer to my Grandparents house! I'll only be posting once or twice next week and enjoying the beautiful beach! I have some great plans in store for the blog in April that I can't wait to share with you!

March 20, 2013

Or so my calendar says anyway! Waking up to 9 degrees and lots of wind sure doesn't make it feel like spring in Wisconsin!

I keep telling myself that vacation in Florida and 80 degrees is only 3 days away! I can handle a few more days of chilliness for my beautiful Florida weather.

In honor of spring, I wanted to share a few beautiful crochet patterns and Pinterest pins that I thought were Spring-spiring (hahaha...am I just making jokes for myself over here?). These are all things that have made me smile, feel warm inside, and make sure the world knows about it!

Sunny Spread - I think this beautiful photo and the warm mustard color blanket make me feel peaceful inside...like Spring really will make it here someday, and even if it doesn't, you can come snuggle under me anyway.

March 19, 2013

I totally meant to write a post about it back closer to March 1st...but better late than never!

I'm celebrating National Crochet Month with a pattern sale! You can purchase any of my patterns in my Ravelry store for 10% off! The discount is automatically applied to your cart :) I can't wait to see what you make!

March 18, 2013

This week marks the end of my rigorous design-proposal weeks, and it is almost time to be able to kick back and enjoy creating some beautiful things for my little girl!

I thought in the meanwhile I would share some patterns for newborn crochet hats with you all! There are so many beautiful and incredible patterns out there. There are many free patterns, and many paid, but I am very sure that you could find exactly what you're looking for on this list!

Do you have any favorite newborn crochet hats? I'd love for you to share them with me!

Babies are SO SWEET! I have so much fun browsing through the baby patterns on Ravelry. There are so many talented designers out there who are so kind to put so much loving hard work into producing their newborn crochet hats for us to enjoy!

March 14, 2013

So, today I'm going to take some time and catch up on all of my recent projects!

First of all, that little project inside of me is wiggly and giggly (well...I don't know about that, but she sure does hiccup a lot!) and growing like a weed!

And this picture leads me to my next project! I finished my holden shawlette last week and got it all blocked. It is BEAUTIFUL! The colors ended up turning out great. I was very skeptical as I was winding my yarn up because the colors looked very dull and boring. But, when knitted and blocked, I think it looks fantastic!

This is the last picture I took of it, while it was still drying. I haven't taken a picture of me wearing it yet...I don't really know why though!

A few weeks ago I won a skein of beautiful natural alpaca yarn of my choice from A to Z Alpacas in Alberta, Canada! I chose to get a skein of their natural lace weight yarn in the fine khaki color. I absolutely fell in love with it when I received it in the mail this week! I immediately went on to ravelry to see what I could find to make with it. I didn't want to crochet something that I wouldn't wear very often, and with a little more than 400 yards of it, I didn't think it would go too far. So, away to the knitting patterns I went! When I saw the Swallowtail shawl I knew I had to make it.

I haven't screwed it up yet! I always said I couldn't do lace knitting because the only time I had tried I failed...miserably. It was like a living hell trying to figure out what in the world I was doing and what I was doing wrong. So pulling off my first 21 rows with only having one little mishap that wasn't the end of the world makes my heart sing!

In crochet news, I have been swatching up a storm so I haven't really had any projects to report. I did, however, start a pair of slippers for myself after I started taking apart a sweater this week! I'm planning on sharing more details tomorrow on this fun project!

I do believe that is all I have for you today! I have to muster up some energy to go make supper. Even after sleeping half of the morning, I'm pretty exhausted. Baby must be having a growth spurt!

March 13, 2013

Yesterday my mom came and spent the day with me and helped me with some cleaning out.

Ever since moving into the apartment, our bedroom has kind of been a sad story. I always imagined having the sanctuary-esc bedroom that you see in every home decorating magazine on the planet...but instead I had a mess on my hands. Unmanaged laundry (my fault), and things that really didn't need to be out all over the place.

I let go of some clothes I had given up hope of ever wearing, and mom helped hang up all of the things that had needed hanging, but never got hung.

Our final product looks a little something like this:

Definitely a beautiful, oasis bedroom. I am planning on sharing more pictures with you of the details this weekend! I had such a busy morning that taking pictures before leaving for the day slipped my mind :) The thing I an probably most excited about though is that there is space to move a rocking chair in on my side of the bed, something I am anticipating as being a must-have item with baby on the way.

On a baby note, we had a midwife appointment today and everything regarding baby Willow is fantastic! She is kickin' up a storm, and has a good strong heartbeat in the 150's. She actually cooperated today and let us find her heartbeat right away and stayed in her spot! I can hardly believe that there are only about 18 weeks to go. Where does time fly to?

Happy Crocheting! I'm looking forward to sharing what I've been up to this week tomorrow!

March 07, 2013

Aslan here. The last few weeks have been rather busy for my people folk, but they let me stay around the house and make sure nobody who doesn't belong here, is here.

Lets see...

Recently I've noticed that I get more time to sit in a sunny window every day! I don't really know why the sun decided it liked me so much, but I'm not complaining! It also is an excellent chance to see the birds who dare to come sit on the air conditioning unit right next to my window. Someday, they will pay for walking on my territory.

My mom has had a lot of toys out for me lately. She seems to enjoy spending her time just sitting around and playing with them too. Except that she uses this weird metal thing that joins it all together and makes it no fun. I try to hop up and show her what it really means to play with the toy...but she doesn't seem to like it when I do that.

Mom and Dad gave me these things that look like tiny mice recently. Except they smell a million times more delectable than a mouse....speaking of which, I'm going to go find them.

March 06, 2013

If you follow me on Facebook, this is a familiar picture to you! I found these beautiful floral doily coasters on Pinterest a few days ago and have searched high and low, but have been unable to find the pattern.

I've been needing to make myself some coasters for a while now. I have discovered that I have this problem with my hot mugs and my beautiful kitchen table my parents gave me after we got married:

I know there are ways to get the heat rings out...but they all involve applying more heat to the table. Quite frankly...that scares the heebie jeebies out of me! Fixing the problem with what caused it never makes sense when you are me.

ANYWAYS!

By popular demand, today I am sharing my improvised floral coaster pattern with you all!

For a 4.25 inch coaster, use DK weight yarn with a G/4.0mm hook (Purple Coaster Here)

For a 5.25 inch coaster, use Worsted weight yarn with a H/5.0mm hook (Teal Coaster Here)

Ch 6, sl st in first ch to form ring

Rnd 1: Ch 3, 23 dc
into ring, sl st in top of ch-3 to join — 24 dc

Rnd 2: Ch 2, dc into next dc, ch 2, *dc2tog over next 2 sts,
ch 2, repeat from * around, sl st in top of first dc made to join — 12 dc2tog

Rnd 4: Ch 1, sc between the turning ch and last dc made in
the last row, *sk next 2 dc, 6 dc into ch-3 sp, sk next 2 dc, sc in sp between
last dc and next dc, repeat from * around,
join with sl st in first sc — 72 dc

Fasten Off. Weave in all ends with a tapestry needle.

Voila! You now have your very own Floral Coaster! I would LOVE to see the coasters you made from the pattern, please share them on my Facebook page!